Cleansing With Egg ~ Filipino Conjure & Rootwork

Egg cleansing is a form of spiritual healing practiced in Mesoamerica by "curanderos," in the Deep South by Hoodoo practitioners, and also in the Philippines by some "Babaylans" and "albularyos." In Hoodoo tradition, the egg of a black hen is most recommended, but any egg will suffice.

Contrary to what many believe, Hoodoo egg cleansing did not originate from Latin American "limpieza espiritual." The practice of egg cleansing in Conjure is actually derived from the ancient African observance of propitiatory or expiatory atonement, commonly practiced by Igbo, Yoruba, and Dagaaba people in West and Central Africa, where they use feathered animals like fowls or doves to take the sins, diseases or misfortunes of a person and ritually slaughtering the animal to put one back into a balanced state. In this ceremony, the priest or shaman moves the feathered animal over the patient's body, along with ritual songs and prayers. Through this ritualistic gesture, all the negativity transfers to the animal; thus, the patient may experience feelings of transformation and become worthy of a renewed lease on life after God or the spirits have accepted the animal as a sacrifice or scapegoat for the patient who was then being disturbed by evil forces.

Similar to propitiatory sacrifices, in egg cleansing, the whole raw egg is run throughout the different body areas to remove adverse conditions caused by one's own defilement and insolence, a dissatisfied ancestral spirit or guide, or a spirit attachment. After this, the egg is broken or destroyed. The egg substitutes the blood sacrifice to cleanse us from impurities. As the Bible teaches, God designed blood as an instrument of the sacrificial system since blood represents life itself. And whether the egg is fertile or infertile, life is essentially there among folk spiritual workers.

There are many individual methods of egg cleansing, often passed down by family lineage. The most typical way of doing this is by prayerfully running a raw, uncooked medium-sized egg, cleansed by incense and anointed with olive oil, or Uncrossing or Healing oil over the client's body to gather up energetic junks that cause unnatural illness and conditions, physical stress and emotional problems to the person.

Personally, when I cleanse my client, I instruct him to close his eyes and guide him to do some breathing exercises. Holding the anointed and incensed egg, I make the sign of the cross. I move around the patient clockwise as I gently roll the egg along the skin's surface, starting from the head down to the torso to the waist, along both arms from shoulder to fingers, and down both legs to the toes and heels, asking God to remove the illness or adverse condition. Some practitioners place the egg under their patient's bed or on an altar to be examined the next day.

The egg yolk went to the bottom of the glass without bubbles, webs, or a foul odor, which meant nothing unnatural was happening.

After the session, the egg is dropped into blessed water and read for some folks who follow the Latin American version of this energetic and spiritual cleansing. This is called egg divination or "oomancy":

If nothing is wrong with the patient or if it is something minor, the egg is removed. The egg usually sinks to the bottom entirely and looks normal.
If tiny bubbles are present in the water, this is usually a sign of some kind of attack or at least some form of negativity, but his protective spirit guides dealt with it for him.
If the egg white forms a webbing pattern or mesh, something is entrapping the patient, holding him back, and obstructing or hindering his personal and spiritual progress. The patient may need to undergo a Block Buster and Road Opener ritual.
If the yolk resembles an eye, then it is a sign of an evil eye.
If there's a face in the yolk, then this is the face of an enemy, and the client might have to do Reversing or Protection spellwork.
If the egg white or the yolk forms any shape in the water, one might need to interpret the shape according to its corresponding symbolism.
If the water is murky or the yolk has blood in it, it is usually a sign of curses and jinxes, and the patient has to perform a full-on Uncrossing, Jinx Removal, or Protection ritual.

The appearance of clouds and webs may signify blockages and obstacles. (Photo courtesy of Ariel Marzan)

In the Hoodoo tradition, practitioners don't psychically analyze the egg anymore. Instead, they take the 'loaded' egg outside and throw it at an old tree while praying for the removal of diseases or crossed conditions.

Very rarely, the egg may break; this typically occurs when there is so much negativity, such as curses and other malefic energies, that the egg cannot contain it. If this happens, have a bowl of warm water, mix some blessed salt, and carefully place the broken or cracked egg so it does not spread or contaminate people or other objects with negativity.

(Photo courtesy of Ariel Marzan)

Four eggs correspond to the mind, heart, body, and soul.

See, What Our Path Is

Being immensely interested in African diaspora religions and Folk Catholicism, we primarily honor our ancestors, Church saints, angels, folk saints, and Afro-Caribbean spirits such as loas and orishas. If we absolutely have to put a label on ourselves, we prefer the label of “Folk Judeo-Christian” as we live according to the customs and traditions of conjure workers and root doctors from the Deep South and syncretic followers of Christ in various nations of the Caribbean and Latin America.

Our spirituality includes West African-based Caribbean-style tradition as well as Esoteric Christianity and Yoruba religion. Generally, we practice Gullah folk magic popularly known in the Deep South as Hoodoo or Lowcountry Voodoo; the ancient wisdom founded by Orunmila in Ile-Ife called Ifa, and a bit of Lihim na Karunungan (Filipino Esotericism or Philippine Mystery Tradition).

Respect, What Hoodoo Is

Despite visible evidence of Central West African, Islamic/Moorish, Native American, Judeo-Christian, European, and even a few East Indian/Hindu, Chinese, and Latino/Caribbean retentions, influences, and admixtures, this does not mean that Hoodoo is an open and unrestricted system of eclectic magic.

Conjure, and Rootwork is rooted in African-American culture and Folk Protestant Christianity. Any practitioners of Hoodoo who did not grow up within African-American culture should still have a fuller understanding and high regard for its origin.

In the beginning, the early conjure doctors were entirely Black. The students were all Black, the elders were Black, the teaching was Black, and they focused only on Blacks as their audience. But other races were accepted when they had also been brought into the Hoodoo community and learned the tradition. Even so, we should still acknowledge that Hoodoo, Conjure, or Rootwork is not ours but only belongs to the Black community. We are just believers who are grafted into their rich yet humble tradition and, by word and deed, embrace genuine African-American folk spirituality and magic. This is all we can do for all the blessings we received from God and our Black ancestors.

Hoodoo's lack of religious structure and hierarchical authority do not mean that any person or group can appropriate or redefine it. If one cannot respect Hoodoo as it is and for what it is, then please, do not play with it.

Learn, How Conjure Is Worked On

Authentic Conjure is not all about blending and selling oils and casting spells online to make money. Hoodoo has its own spiritual philosophy, theology, and a wide range of African-American folkways, customs, and practices which include, but are not limited to, veneration of the ancestors, Holy Ghost shouting, snake reverence, spirit possession, graveyard conjure, nkisi practices, Black hermeneutics, African-American church traditions, the ring shout, the Kongo cosmogram, ritual water immersions, crossroads magic, making conjure canes, animal sacrifices, Jewish scriptural magic, enemy works, Seekin' ritual, magical incorporation of bodily fluids, etc.

Unfortunately, they are currently missing in marketeered or commercial Hoodoo, as they are being removed, disregarded, or ignored by unknowing merchants who simply want to profit from an African-American spiritual tradition, thus reducing Hoodoo to just a plethora of recipes, spells, and tricks.

Tim and I are completely aware that we are not African-Americans, so we are doing our best to retain and preserve the customs and traditions of the slave ancestors to avoid unnecessary conflict with the larger Black-Belt Hoodoo community and prevent them from labeling us inauthentic outsiders and our practice as mere 'cultural misappropriation.'

Accept, Who We Are

The byproduct of eons of slave history, Black supremacists believe that only people with African or African-American blood are real Hoodoo practitioners and are often inclined to consider themselves as the elite of the Hoodoo community; a place in which they believed that Whites, Latinos, Asians or any other races who do not have Black ancestry do not belong. Black supremacists are prone to be very hostile towards both “outsiders” and those accepting of them, fearing that their promotion and acceptance would dilute or even negate the Black identity of Hoodoo.

Although we do understand why some Blacks hold this stance, since a lot of people nowadays are misappropriating many aspects of Hoodoo and teaching the spiritual path even without proper education and training (for purely monetary purposes), we would, however, want to say that not all non-Black Hoodoo practitioners are the same.

WE respect what Hoodoo is, and we never try to change it, claim it as our own, disregard its history, take unfair advantage of it, speak against the people who preserve it, and mix it with other cultures (like our own) and call it Filipino/Pinoy Hoodoo, Gypsy Hoodoo or Wiccan Hoodoo because there are no such things.